China is on COURSE to becoming the world's largest trader.

Digest

Comment

The Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission held a key meeting on Jan 6 to propel reform in the Chinese financial and banking system. Given that this is the first commission national conference since the Party's Third Plenum in November and the Central Economic Work Conference in December, the meeting attracted considerable interest, domestically and internationally.

Life

For many cat lovers, the best thing about felines is their unpredictability; sometimes they act as though they worship their "owners", but often they behave as though they have been carved from an iceberg, implacable and devoid of compassion. That unpredictability raises the question of why humans tolerated such capricious behavior in the first place.

Spotlight

Yao Shaoshuang has been the most photographed horse rider in China in the past month. Donning a cowboy hat and boots for three days, he rode a black horse from his workplace in Pixian to the city of Dujiangyan, where his mother-in-law lives, after failing to secure a bus ticket for Spring Festival travel. (The county and city lie to the northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital.) His image appeared all over the Internet, and Yao said he received hundreds of calls, including interview requests, from the media. Apart from his inability to obtain a ticket, Yao says he made his trip on horseback as he was eager to reach his destination and to impress his in-laws on his first visit to his wife's family.

People

Travelers on the London Underground are enjoying the luxury of seeing a masterpiece of Chinese traditional painting as they rush to their next destination. As the Year of the Horse is about to begin, posters showing the painting have just been put up at about 200 Underground stations across the city.

A public debate on the safety of genetically modified food between two Chinese celebrities has turned into a drama set in three countries

Snapshots

The horse was important in ancient times for hunting, farming and warfare, and it is recognized as one of the six most important animals associated with humans, as well as one of the 12 zodiac animals of the Lunar Chinese Calendar. Horses symbolize luck, virtue and a progressive spirit, and most Chinese idioms about horses are positive. People have been welcoming the Year of the Horse in different ways, with those born in previous years of the horse wearing red clothing and red belts, each with their own story and expectations and dreams for their birth year.

Infographics

Last Word

Junheng Li insists she is not as frightening as the title of her new book might suggest.

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